Chapter Six
Christopher
It’s true that I’ve gotten bad at taking what I want without regard for those around me. That said, I don’t take things I don’t have good plans for, and I certainly don’t take things I don’t intend to work on and cherish.
Though, until now, what I want has never been a woman. Sure, there have been times when I was so horny I needed a warm body, or so lonely I needed to talk to random women online, but this… this need, this desire I have for Trish, is more than all of that.
She’s more than a warm body. She’s an inferno. She’s more than a random conversation. She’s every voice I want to hear for the rest of my life. So, while walking away might seem like the right thing to do, I’m not denying that I’m a selfish, unapologetic man.
I’m a man who’s going to get what he wants… one way or another.
Trish swings open the door and stares at me, her lips spread slightly, her hair a disheveled mess, her eyes puffy like she’s been crying. I hate that she’s been crying.
Fuck, I need her. I need to hold her. I need to make her feel good. I need to keep her.
“What are you doing?” Her tone is soft and sweet, almost like she might be glad I’m here. “You should go.”
“I should,” I step inside her cabin, my eyes never leaving her dark brown gaze, “and I’d love to ask permission for what I’m about to do next, but I think maybe I’ll ask forgiveness instead.”
She crosses her arms over her chest and shakes her head. “Wow. You really are entitled, aren’t you? What are you doing, Christopher?”
“I’m taking what I want.”
“Oh my God. I thought I was being dramatic calling you arrogant, but this is exactly what I’m talking about. You really can’t be told no, can you?”
“Guess not.” I back her up against the wall of the cabin, my hand above her head, the other resting on her throat. She could kick, scream, knee me in the balls, even tell me to leave again if she wanted to, but she doesn’t. Instead, her chest rises and falls faster and faster, and soon I feel her pulse speeding against my palm. I lean in slowly, breathing in the lavender on her skin and the chocolate still on her lips. “If you don’t want me to do the ski resort, I’ll cancel it all. You are the last person I want to piss off.”
“What are you talking about? You hate failed business plans. It’s your biggest fear.”
“No.” My hand lands on her chin and I direct her gaze up toward mine. “Losing you is my biggest fear. That’s why I came and offered you the money. That’s why I couldn’t drive away tonight. Something happened between us at the ranch, Trish. You can keep denying it, but we both know it’s real.”
“Why do feelings matter? This would never work. I don’t want to wake up in ten years with some guy who’s bitching about how to fold the laundry.”
“The laundry?”
“Yeah, I’ve dated guys like you. Arrogant, and right about everything. They stomp all over your boundaries and they leave you feeling inferior and pointless.” She glances away then back again. “Christopher, you’re a nice guy. A very hot, nice guy, but I’m a grown woman. I need to choose better for myself. I can’t get sucked into a relationship that’s going to end in two years because you get bored, or when I get annoyed with something I knew was going to be too much on day one. If you need to get laid, you can just say so. I do too. We don’t have to complicate it with feelings.”
I stare at her, my thumb resting on her pulse, her chest rising and falling, a strand of her hair slipping off the back of my hand. She’s so perfect. “Yeah, I want to fuck you. I want to fuck you until you’re sore and you can’t remember your name. Then, I want to hold you and never let you get away. We’ll compromise, kitten. We’ll talk things through, and we’ll make it work. And laundry, fuck the laundry. We can pay someone to do that.”
Her breathing increases and the stare between us gets stronger as an invisible force pushes us together, and all at once her hands are on my back, her lips are on mine, and the permission I’d been waiting for is right there in front of me, ready for the taking.